The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

In a move geared to raise its market value, Kraft Foods is splitting itself into separate businesses. Oreos, Trident and Cadbury will remain under company control as part of its global snacks operation, while the North American grocery division, including Velveeta, Macaroni & Cheese and Oscar Mayer, will be spun off to shareholders. The operations will pursue separate strategies.

The New York Times reports the maneuver pleases mega-shareholder Warren Buffet, who called Kraft’s purchase of Cadbury last year “dumb.”

According to the story, the split could mean more aggressive moves from the two Krafts in the food industry, with the snacks business attempting to march into new markets while the grocery side could fan out into collecting more brands. Theoretically, you could be seeing a lot more of that Kraft logo in the grocery aisles, as if you didn’t see enough of it already.